As a mother, a New Zealander, a woman, a white person, a person who has lived on every continent but often as a privileged minority, I am excited that others are ably expressing a frustration and unease I have been sitting with for years now.
Having worked in many emergency responses around the world, I am constantly trying to understand and make sense of a roller coaster of experiences and emotions and to analyse my role in trying to do significantly more than just ‘No Harm’.
My working thesis, in response to a seemingly endless list of questions, is to see if we can use technology to listen to people affected by crisis in an open and transparent way to leverage new systems of power. However, this will only work if organisations and donors’ value the perspectives of people affected by crisis (i.e. those we are here to ‘serve’) as much as other measures of accountability. This is not yet a given.
This blog is part of CDA’s From Where I Stand series, designed to listen to people most affected by aid as they explore and amplify their leadership experiences, stories, and lessons for the aid sector.
You must be logged in in order to leave a comment